Singaporeans thank ex-President Halimah for sharing story of Palestinian girl killed in 2024

SINGAPORE: On Tuesday (Aug 25), former President Halimah Yacob posted on social media about a five-year-old Palestinian named Hind Rajab.  While the little girl had been killed in Gaza in January 2024, it was only recently that Israel acknowledged responsibility for her death. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Aug 19 that it was launching an investigation concerning the killing.

Mdm Halimah, who has regularly expressed concern over the plight of Palestinians in Gaza, posted a screenshot of a report in The Straits Times concerning Israel’s admission about Hind’s death.

“On 29 Jan 2024, in Gaza City, Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian child, pleaded over the phone for emergency workers to rescue her from a car riddled with bullets. Her body was found two weeks later, on 10 Feb 2024, alongside the bodies of six of her family members in the car,” she wrote, adding that two Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) paramedics who had attempted to rescue the little girl were found deceased in an ambulance nearby. 

“Two years later, Israel admits its responsibility in the killing,” she added. However, she went on to raise questions about the thousands of other Palestinian children who have died in the war in Gaza. Mdm Halimah also noted how Gaza is “the place with the largest number of child amputees in the world,” and reiterated that there needs to be accountability.

In response to her post, many commenters thanked the former President for sharing Hind’s story and her calls for justice.

“Thank you, Madam Halimah, for continuing to use your voice for those whose voices are too often unheard,” one wrote.

“Thanks for your support and highlighting this. May justice prevail,” added another.

“Thank you for sharing, Halimah,” a commenter wrote, adding that they had shared her post.

"Assalamualaikum, Ma'am, good afternoon. Thank you for your support,” wrote a netizen.

Hind Rajab

Hind’s story was widely reported on in early 2024, especially after the audio clip of the little girl speaking to the PRCS dispatcher was made public on Feb 3 of that year. She can be heard saying, “I'm so scared, please come. Come take me. Please, will you come?”

The little girl bravely stayed on the line for three hours, but ultimately, the effort to rescue her failed despite claims from PPRCS that it had been allowed to send an ambulance on a designated route. The ambulance, like the vehicle Hind and members of her family had been riding, was riddled with bullet holes.

From the time of the phone call to PPRCS until her body was found 12 days later, Hind’s mother spoke publicly, appealing to be reunited with her daughter.

In the aftermath of her death, three award-winning short films have been made about the incident: Close Your Eyes Hind, The Voice of Hind Rajab, and Hind Under Siege. /TISG

Read also: Academic Walid J Abdullah calls Mdm Halimah a voice of ‘moral clarity’ in his new book